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Formed in 2003, the short existence of the University of Kirkuk has inevitably been defined by the recent changes in Iraqi history.

Kirkuk, at the foot of the Zokra Mountains around 150 miles north of Baghdad, has been described as "a biblical city with vast oil reserves, a towering citadel and a multi-ethnic composition that make it a microcosm of an entire region".

Both location and characteristics created an institution with the aim of "building the future human being and preparing it to prepare the right leadership of society¡± at the frontline of Iraq¡¯s civil conflicts. Survival was a challenge by itself, but the UK also supported students and institutions displaced by warfare.

In May 2019 it won the THE Asia Award for Outstanding Student Support for providing "not just education, but housing, food and emotional support" for nearly 50,000 students displaced from seven other universities including in Mosul, Tikrit and Fallujah. This included opening up its classrooms and laboratories after hours and at weekends.

It started with colleges of law and political science, education and humanities and nursing and has grown to take the total student roll of close to 25,000, including just over 9,000 part-timers. It has placed an emphasis on teaching and research in science, technology and medicine.

The Medical School, which offers 11 academic specialisms, is one of five faculties ¨C the others are science, law, agriculture and administration and science ¨C which run Open Access journals.

Priorities include the opening of schools of agriculture and education at Hawija, 30 miles west of Kirkuk.